


Ahead By A Century

by lighthouseglow



Series: Nexus Archives [4]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: American History, Anxiety Disorder, Assassin's Creed References, Backstory, Battlestar Galactica References, Bioshock Infinite Spoilers, Biotics, Brother-Sister Relationships, Character Development, Childhood, Colonization, Disability, Drabble Collection, Exploration, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Female Friendship, Firefly References, Florida, Gaming, Geeks, Gen, Genetic Engineering, Hamilton References, Historical References, Inspired by Music, Inspired by Poetry, Lion King (1994) References, Movie Quotation(s), Musicians, N7 Day, Neglect, Personal Canon, Physical Disability, Pre-Game(s), Racism, Sherlock References, Sibling Bonding, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), Star Trek References, Star Wars References, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, Stealth Crossover, Television Watching, Terminal Illnesses, Twin Peaks References, Twins, Women in the Military
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-30 05:57:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8521075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lighthouseglow/pseuds/lighthouseglow
Summary: Hello, my name is Lily Ryder.





	1. You Will Come of Age With Our Young Nation

“Theirs was not to reason why…”

“Theirs was but to do or die!”

“Into the valley of death rode the six hundred… What’s that poem about, sweetheart?”

“The charge of the Light Brigade. Every one of them died.”

“That’s right. You’re so smart, you know that?”

“I just…know stuff.”

“Whose footprint is that? Down there?”

“Neil Armstrong’s, Daddy. Or Buzz Aldrin’s.”

“Close enough.” Daddy really loved playing David Bowie when we went on our walks together. Helped him relax, he said… “Stop reading those sad books, please…”

“But T.E. Lawrence is really cool!”

“And Lawrence of Arabia wouldn’t like it up here.”

I didn’t argue with him and went back to my reading.


	2. You'll Never Be Anything

“What your daughter has is a rare hearing disorder. No known cure to date. Salarian scientists working on that.”

“That doesn’t help me, Doctor.”

“Commander Lily Shepard has it. Common information in her files. No known cure for her, either.”

“Could you put us in contact with her?”

“What good would that do you, Mr. Ryder? Besides, she has been sent to Earth. Human court-martial. Problematic.”

I sighed, finally breaking my silence. “Daddy, I _am_ right here, y’know. Just saying.”


	3. Boot Camp

"Lily Ryder," I said, sticking my hand out to the blonde girl in basic training.

"Newt."

"...You're fucking with me. There's no way your name's Newt; that's like...a Harry Potter name or something." I couldn't hold back my impolite snort.

"Don't say that too loudly, Ryder, Lu's named after one of the characters. And Newt's a nickname, but if you wanna get formal it's Jordan. Engineer Rebecca Jordan. Like the girl in the vid you like."

"...You have awesome parents."

"Says the girl whose dad went through the first mass relay. _I'm_ just a scrappy colony kid with scrappy colonial parents."

"Wanna go see the world on the arks?"

"Absolutely. Want to go grab a coffee sometime?"

"It'll probably be the only thing good on the ship!" I called after her and she laughed. At least someone else would be into retro vids...


	4. The Trick, William Potter...

Daddy didn’t talk much about growing up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, not quite in California and not quite in Nevada either. They were dirt poor, lived off the land and Daddy had to teach the horses not to spook when the skycars occasionally flew overhead.

“‘There is nothing in the desert, and no man needs nothing,’” Scott remarked serenely when Daddy told us this story right before we shipped out.

“Ned is mine,” I retorted as I threw my plush Yoda into my bag, referring to T.E. Lawrence himself.

“Yeah, well,” Scott said, turning away from the mirror and giving me that shit-eating grin from when we were kids, “I love the film.”

“You’ve had it on repeat for the past _day_ , Scott,” grunted Daddy from the sofa.

“Scott Michael Ryder, this is a nasty, dark little room,” I quoted. “We are not happy in it.”

“That much is obvious,” sighed our father.


	5. The Only Thing Good On This Ship

“You know Scott was genetically modified, right?” Daddy asked me one night when he was a little tipsy. “Your mom and I were big Alien fans—”

“For obvious reasons,” put in Scott, getting another drink.

“Don’t interrupt me, Scotty.”

“Yeah, whatever, Dad,” Scott retorted sarcastically.

“—But we were also big Michael Fassbender fans as well. Shame we never got to shake that kid’s hand and tell him how gifted he was. Earthborn actor. Threw himself totally into everything he did. Since he’s long dead, we asked the specialists to replicate his DNA when Mom was pregnant.”

 

“So that’s why he resembles Walter and David in Alien: Covenant.”

“Yep.”

“Those were the producers’ names, the guys who produced the first film.”

“Ask me if I care, Lily.” I knew where this was going; Daddy loved to use that retort as dry, biting humor.

“Do you care?”

“No. Why should I care?”

Scott and I couldn’t help giggling.


	6. So They Move Uptown

“Lily, there’s… ”

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” (Scott would often chide me for not calling him Dad the older we got.)

“It’s your mother. She’s terminal.”

“No…” I wasn’t a crier, but the tears came anyway. “You’ve got to tell Scotty…”

“I know. Come here, precious.”

“I’m not gonna cry, Daddy. Soldiers don’t cry. Can I have my Xanax?” The stubbornness ran in the family.

“Sure, sweetie.”

“And some tea?”

“Mhm.”

“Why are you not upset?” I asked, following him into the kitchen.

“Because Mom’s illness _won’t_ be terminal. Not on my watch.”


	7. Ziggy Played Guitar

“We couldn’t have moved somewhere cool, like Los Angeles?” I piped up from the back of the rental skycar. “It really had to be north Florida, huh?”

“Mom needed it for the climate, Lily, we’ve been over this.”

“I have gamer friends in LA.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t _met_ any of them, have you?”

“Shut up, Scott, you don’t have any friends at all.”

“Will you two cut it out, goddamn it?!” Daddy raising his voice was usually enough to silence us.

“Alec, calm down. Please.” Some days I felt like only Mom, with her English accent and English breakfast tea, could soothe him.

“I’m fine, Ryder.”

“No, you’re not. You really should take a break from working on SAM for once in your life…”

“No. I can’t. I won’t fucking do it, Ellen. I won’t…”

I put on my blue headphones and pretty soon David Bowie drowned them out. Watching them interact with each other was awkward, being the oldest daughter and everything. Scott…just never noticed these things.


	8. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No, I mean does she assist you in attacking the enemy?” I asked, the PlayStation 4 controller in my hands—the things you can buy for cheap on the Citadel—and staring dully at the TV screen. “You know, something useful?”

“Hey, Lily, what are you--?”

“Scott Michael Ryder, you didn’t tell me the girl I’m rescuing in Bioshock Infinite is a fucking Disney princess!”

“Come dance with me, Mr. DeWitt!” said the young lady on the TV screen. She sort of wore her hair like I did, a low ponytail, but I inwardly shuddered at her skirt and stockings. No way in hell would you catch me in that shit, but… _Find a silver lining, find a silver--_

“I don’t dance,” Booker, my character, and I growled simultaneously and Scott chuckled. “Can I play as her now, at least?” I asked hopefully.

“Um…no.”

“Does she do anything useful in battle?”

“Uh…she…throws you items.”

“No, I mean does she assist you in attacking the enemy?” I asked, the PlayStation 4 controller in my hands—the things you can buy for cheap on the Citadel—and staring dully at the TV screen. “You know, something useful?”

“She doesn’t take any damage when you fight the enemy?” Scott tried hesitantly, dropping into the nearest armchair recliner.

“She doesn’t attack?” I asked, my voice rising to a frustrated pitch. “She doesn’t fucking attack?”

“…No.”

I sighed. “This is going to be a long game…”


	9. I Took The Path

The night before launch, Scott and I slipped away to watch the Mad Max films and Wonder Woman. Let the Initiative have their speeches; I could do without it. “I still love that movie after all this time,” I sighed as Scott shut the vid off. “I’m never going to be Diana, am I?”

“You’ll get your chance. What’d you think of it, SAM?” I often forgot we had SAM with us, to be honest.

“I thought it was a fascinating experi—”

“Scott, quit, you sound like Daddy.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

“No, you’re just spewing shit to make me feel better.”

“Lily, you need to stop acting like the world’s going to attack you.”

“I act like that because it _is_ going to attack me. Us. We're biotics, remember?”

“Alec would want you two to stop fighting,” interrupted SAM.

“Well, Daddy’s not here, is he?” I snapped.

“Not like he’s ever been,” Scott sighed.

“Scott, don’t—”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it, Lily? Isn’t it?”


	10. Sorry For Now That I Couldn't Be Around

“Sorry, kids, I don’t have time. This project for Ambassador Goyle needs to get done.”

“Dad, you never have time for anything! Least of all us!”

“Scott, don’t—”

“No, Lily, I’m going to say it! I don’t think you love us! You love Mom more than you’ve ever loved us!”

“Don’t start with me, boy!” Daddy growled dangerously. “When you mature, get older, you’ll understand why I made the choices I did. I need to work, Scott!”

“What about Lily?”

“Don’t drag me into this, Scott—”

“I love both of you.”

“You have a damn weird way of showing it… _sir_.”

Daddy shut the automatic door in our faces without another word.


End file.
